Dwayne's grandparents have been spending the winter months near Phoenix and decided to pay us a visit a couple of weeks ago. They are so helpful and fun to have around. We enjoyed a trip up to Avila Beach on the one sunny day during the time they were here.


Here's me and 36-week-old baby. He's due on March 26th, although I'm hoping he'll come a few days sooner so I don't have to travel the extra distance to the hospital from the base, where we'll be living at that point. My labor with Stuart was VERY fast, so I'm a little nervous, but I'm sure it will all work out.

Dwayne won the Medical Group level "Officer of the Year" award, and we were able to attend a base-wide awards ceremony and dinner. In his almost four years in the Air Force, it was the first time I'd seen him in his "mess" dress, which I find to be an ironic name for the most formal uniform they have. Anyways, he didn't receive the award at the base level, but it was fun to be able to dress up, go out on a date, and hear a little more about what he does at work every day.


Here I am celebrating my 30th birthday. Doesn't seem like I've been around for three decades, but I guess it's true. Simon and I had been reading a book the weeks before called, "Cook-a-doodle-do!" about a rooster descendant of the Little Red Hen who loves to cook and makes delicious strawberry shortcake, so I decided that's what I wanted for my birthday treat--nighttime treat, that is. For breakfast we had chocolate croissants from Trader Joe's frozen section. The boys and I would highly recommend them! Dwayne and Simon made a delicious shortcake and we shared it after a yummy dinner out at a local place called, "American Flatbread."


So for those who don't know, Dwayne is separating from the Air Force this July. We were hoping to stay in this home that we're renting until then, but at the end of January received notice that we had to be out in 60 days (they're trying desperately to sell the home, but beyond that didn't give us any explanation of why), yep, 5 days after our baby is due. Some friends who recently moved here conveniently gave us all of their boxes and packing materials, so that has been a huge help in getting everything boxed up and ready to put into storage later this month, when we'll move into furnished temporary Air Force housing until the baby and I are well enough to travel. At that point (our guess is in early May), the boys and I will move to Indiana (where Dwayne has accepted a job at Riley Children's Hospital), look for a house and hang out with my parents and sisters, and then Dwayne will join us in late June, when his terminal leave (the vacation days he hasn't used up) from the Air Force begins. So things have been a little crazy around here, but the fact that many of the boys' toys are already boxed up has actually encouraged creative play. In the above picture, they had converted some packing paper into life vests and were diving off a boat into the water below. We've found that boxes make fun kid-sized boats, rocket ships, and race cars, and can also be arranged to make ramps for monster truck races.

The plastic covering on the crib mattress got torn, so the reamaining piece of foam, covered with an old fitted sheet, has become a very useful tumbling mat. Dwayne's grandparents were recently here visiting and taught Simon to do what he now calls "PLFs," parachute landing falls. They've been practicing somersaults and various other stunts. I'm always amazed that more of what they do doesn't result in injuries.